By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible (Hebrews 11:24-27).

Moses paid a great price to follow God. He was raised in a palace in luxury, and he had anything money could buy. Servants waited on him, and even his own mother was brought in to be one of his servants.

Moses was well-educated and was taught by the best teachers in Egypt at that time. He was admired by many, and I’m sure he could have married any Egyptian girl of his choice. Considering his position, many of them would have been honored to have become his wife. He was an important person in Egypt, but he gave it all up to follow God. He refused the power, riches and prestige in the court of Pharaoh and took his place among the Hebrew slaves.

Life in Pharaoh’s court provided every luxury the world had to offer; so what did the Israelites have to offer Moses besides poverty, misery, exile, frustration, distress and hatred? They had nothing of value as far as the world was concerned; but Moses looked beyond earthly value and saw the true and living God, the Jehovah of the Children of Israel.

Moses Prophesied about Jesus

Through the Spirit of God, Moses had a vision of Jesus; and he prophesied of the great Prophet to come. Peter told about this prophecy and of the consequences of not listening to the coming Prophet. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people (Acts 3:22,23).

Moses didn’t have a complete revelation of Jesus in one instant; but as he followed the Lord day by day, he learned much, and it all added up. Moses kept in mind that wonderful vision of the Lord and what was to come.

Moses didn’t have the kind of vision in which Jesus came to him in person. There are different kinds of visions; and in Moses’ vision, God gave him insight into the greatness of the Son of God because he had chosen the better way, that of following the Lord.

Separate from the World

Have you renounced the pleasures of this world, or do you still hang on to them? Are you always seeking to be entertained and looking for happiness in worldly amusements? You may not actually go into sin, but are you so busy enjoying the pursuits of self that you neglect the work of God? Are you so preoccupied seeking entertainment that you are not praying, fasting and taking time to read the Word of God? Are you so caught up in man’s opinions that sin appears to be innocent? How involved with the world are you?

The Bible says, Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (II Corinthians 6:14-18; 7:1). You must separate from the world.

If you are a friend of the world, you are an enemy of God. It’s easy to become involved with this world and allow its pleasures to take hold of you. The entire world is now so easily accessible through smartphones, the Internet, television, radio and so much more that you can easily get distracted from the plan of God for your life.

Are Your Days Lost Causes?

If you are an anointed, Holy Spirit-filled child of God, you must be able to separate those things that will help, edify and bless you in the Lord from those that won’t. The Bible says to work out your own salvation with fear [honor] and trembling (Philippians 2:12).

Did your actions yesterday help you and bless you in any way? Were you a better person, and did others see the light of God because of what you did? Was God enriched and was Heaven blessed by your actions, or was it a lost day for God?

Think back to two or three days ago. Did you do anything to bless the Lord, edify yourself in the Lord and build up your faith? Did you yield to the Lord more and climb a little higher in divinity, or were your days lost causes?

During the past week, did you do anything to enrich Heaven, and did the Lord record anything favorable about you? Did the angels rejoice and give the Lord a good report about you, or did they shake their heads saying, “We have nothing good to say today, Lord”?

You Have Free Choice

The angels are workers for the Lord, but they must feel sad at times in reporting to God. Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:14)? Angels are there to minister to you, to help you and protect you; but they cannot keep you out of danger if you turn a deaf ear to their directions. They can’t keep you out of places you should not go if you really want to go.

You have free choice, and angels don’t have the power to take that from you or to make you do anything against your own will. That is why it is so important to yield your whole will to the Lord. If you don’t do that, you won’t be obedient to Him. Instead, you will do what self wants to do.

Trying to follow the Lord’s teachings without being yielded to Him brings frustration, resentment and rebellion. It brings the kind of hypocrisy that leads some churchgoers to sneak around and indulge in what they know the Lord and other church members wouldn’t approve of.

It isn’t for me to draw lines and tell people how to dress or where they can and can’t go. I preach the Word of God to help everyone I can yield to the Holy Spirit so He can regulate their actions according to the Word. I preach the Word of God, and people are free to do with it what they choose. That is what Jesus did when He was here on Earth.

At times, Jesus spoke in parables, which would cause those who wanted more of Him to ask what the parables meant. Then those who didn’t want to know any more could put it out of their minds and go on their own way. Jesus let people know what His Father’s will was, and He gave teachings that would edify and show how to please God. What people did with His teachings was left up to them.

Moses Made the Right Choice

Moses chose the right path in following God. Will you yield to God and make the right choices? Have you decided to seek the world’s approval and hold dear to those things that have sent millions of souls to hell? Do you worship money, prestige and pleasures of the flesh?

Moses weighed all of his options and came to the conclusion that what God had in store for him was much greater than all the wealth and power in the world. He had the foresight to know that the world’s pleasures would last for only a season, and then he would die.

Everyone should visit a cemetery once in a while to bring reality to the fact that they too will go the way of all flesh one day. Only those who are taken to Heaven alive in the Rapture will not die. The devil can deceive you into thinking that death will never come to you or that you have a long time before you have to face it when in reality, you may have only a few days or a few months at the most to live.

The times we live in are growing more and more perilous, so children of God should be delighted that Jesus is coming to rescue them. There are torments, burdens and battles with the devil at every turn, and life is not easy; but soon, we are going to be delivered from the devil and moved to a place where he can never come near us again. However, there is a great price to pay for this wonderful deliverance. In searching the pages of God’s Holy Word, we find that anyone who was used by God or came into the greatness of God had to pay a great price.

Never Take Your Life out of God’s Hands

Some people are content to go to Heaven doing God’s permissible will rather than His divine will, and they can get there through the blood of Jesus when they die; but they might not make the Rapture. Others pay a great price to do God’s precious, divine will completely and to please Him in all things.

It is wonderful to be used by God any time He wants to use you and to have the power of God moving in your life in this hour. This is a great time to be on Earth if you are a person who is so yielded to the Spirit of the Lord that He can use you whenever and wherever He wants to and speak His words through you to whomever He wants to hear them. How fabulous to be a vessel so yielded that you never take your life out of the hands of God! Each day, you say, “Use me, Lord. Use me.”

A Time of Preparation

Although Moses had made the right choice, he was in no condition to lead the Israelites when he left the palace of Pharaoh. God sent him into the desert, and it took Him forty years to prepare Moses so He could talk to him at the burning bush. Moses had to come to the place where God could trust him with the miracle rod of faith that was going to perform great miracles.

If Moses had assumed it was he and not God who was bringing about the miracles, he could have misused God’s power. Moses could have boasted to Pharaoh that he would show him great wonders, but Moses didn’t do that; he remained humble. That is why God waited until Moses would use His power in the right way and with the right attitude.

Moses was seeking to find reality in Jehovah God, the great I-Am, and he found that reality at the burning bush. Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God (Exodus 3:1-6).

Moses found what he was looking for at the burning bush; and today, you can find what you’re looking for in your burning bush—the Holy Ghost. Through the fire of the Holy Spirit, you can have the reality and greatness of God. He can become so real to you that you will wonder why He isn’t that real to everyone; but then you must remember that you first had to receive the fire of the Holy Spirit.

God Used Moses

Moses had awesome experiences with the Lord. He must have felt overwhelmed with the greatness of God as he stood before the Red Sea and commanded the waters to separate; but look at all the struggles he endured to reach that place. What a great price Moses paid! The days and nights of dealing with disobedient people as the devil tormented him were so difficult.

Many, many years of preparation took place before the Lord took Moses to Mount Sinai where he lived in the presence of God without food or water for forty days and nights. Moses said, When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the Lord made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water (Deuteronomy 9:9).

God wrote the Ten Commandments on stone tablets with His own finger. And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God (Exodus 31:18). Imagine how Moses must have felt to be secluded with God for forty days and nights while He personally wrote His commandments and then reached down His powerful hand to put them into his hands. What a thrill!

They Forgot God’s Miracles

Moses was criticized and belittled, even by his own people. A very few may have told him how much they appreciated him; but most of them grumbled, complained and were ready to turn against him in an instant. What a great price he paid! As long as Moses was praying down a great miracle that brought a mighty deliverance, the people were quiet; and they would enjoy the results for a little while. However, as soon as everything wasn’t going their way, they started complaining again. Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy. How he had wrought his signs in Egypt, and his wonders in the field of Zoan (Psalm 78:41-43).

God didn’t lead the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage to leave them in the wilderness; He was sending them to the land of Canaan. However, because of their unbelief and murmuring, He couldn’t take them right on in. Those people brought their judgments upon themselves. What a price Moses paid with those people in the wilderness for forty years!

Death Was a Blessing

I once felt sorry for Moses because he didn’t get to enter the land of Canaan, but not anymore. God took him up a mountain and showed him that wonderful land, but God did him a great favor in taking him to Heaven instead. If Moses had been the one to lead them into Canaan, he would have once again been disappointed in the people because they still didn’t do right. Moses would have continued to be troubled and tormented over their disobedience.

When the Lord took Moses to Heaven, the angels were the undertakers. God didn’t let man touch his body; and in fact, no one has ever found his grave. Why?—because God didn’t want anyone to have Moses’ bones. The Israelites were so involved with idol gods that if they had found those bones, they probably would have worshiped them. I’m sure Moses was glad he was completely out of their reach.

The devil tried to claim the body of Moses. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee (Jude 1:9). If the devil disputed so much with the angels over Moses’ body, imagine how much more he will try to get to the bodies of you who are alive! That is why you have the blood of Jesus as your protection. No power can stand before that mighty, miracle-working blood power.

The Flesh Must Be Crucified

Some people are content to see others work for God but are not willing to pay the price so that God can use them in any great way. God puts much effort into getting us ready for His work, and I know your journey has not been an easy one if you have yielded all to God; but the wonder of experiencing His greatness in your life is beyond any price you have to pay.

Years ago, the Lord called those in this Jesus ministry into the prayer closet for two hours on Wednesdays; and it wasn’t an easy task, but it helped bring about great and mighty things in this worldwide outreach. Those of you who have joined this great army have found the path is not an easy one. Preaching that comes straight from the Word of God in this sinful hour can be a drastic transition, and being completely dedicated to God goes against the flesh.

It is not easy spending hours and hours in God’s presence and crucifying the flesh; but the blessings of God, the way He moves in this ministry and the fantastic miracles that take place are worth any sacrifice. As we see the greatness of God poured out, it gives us more energy, strength and determination to pay whatever price God asks.

Have you decided that you will gladly give your everything to follow the Lord all the way in this last and final hour, even if it takes your life? I am gladly giving my whole life for His cause, and the Holy Spirit bears witness in my heart that I mean it.

People Must Have God’s Reality

Millions of people need deliverance and help because they are filled with doubt, despair and disease. They have been deceived and nearly destroyed by skeptics, agnostics and false teachers. Even some ministers who claim to preach the Word of God tell their congregations that God’s power does not move for people in the same way today. They say that miracles and healings only took place when Jesus was here.

Many claim that no one can live free from sin and that a God of love would never send a person to hell. All of those things are horrible lies of the devil! Such liars and deceivers have taken the power of God out of the minds and lives of many people, and it will take the all-out miracle power of God to deliver them and give them real faith in the true and living God.

You must help take God’s reality to people, but you can only do that if you have that reality in your own life. You can’t serve something that you don’t have, and God cannot serve through you unless He first gives you what He wants served. That is why many fail. God must be able to trust you with what He wants you to serve. You must have holy hands, a holy heart and holy lips yielded so completely to Him that He can depend on you to properly handle and serve what He gives you.

Favoritism Brought Jealousy

I think of the price Joseph paid and the amazing spirit of God he had through it all. Joseph’s father, Jacob, favored him above his brothers, and Jacob made him a special coat of many colors. That favoritism he showed to Joseph caused his brothers to be jealous, and they hated him. Now Israel [Jacob] loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him (Genesis 37:3,4).

Joseph’s brothers also did not like the revelations the Lord would give him concerning them. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words (Genesis 37:5-8).

Joseph then had another dream that he shared with his brothers and his father; and again, it showed he would have dominion over them. And his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying (Genesis 37:10,11).

Joseph’s family concluded he was saying that he would be a ruler over them, and they didn’t like it one bit. However, that is exactly what God intended; but before that time, Joseph’s brothers sold him as a slave.

Sold for Twenty Pieces of Silver

Imagine how horrified Joseph was when his own brothers threw him into a pit just as though he were an animal. And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it (Genesis 37:23,24).

Then the brothers sold him as a slave. And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt (Genesis 37:25-28).

Joseph’s brothers knew what they were doing because later they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear (Genesis 42:21).

I’m sure Joseph cried and cried. At first, he probably thought it was a cruel joke; but it wasn’t a joke. I imagine that for days or even months afterward, he could still hear the silver being counted out for his sale. He must have thought over and over again about his loving father and the grief he was going through. Joseph paid an unbelievable price; but because of the God in him, he saw it differently from what most would. He had no spirit of anger, bitterness, revenge or unforgiveness; and we must look at our persecutions the same way.

Joseph Was Severely Tried

Joseph was sold to an officer of Pharaoh, and he didn’t have a life of his own. He did end up serving in a fashionable home; but unfortunately, his master’s wife wanted him. He rejected her; and one day, he fled from her in such a hurry that he left his coat behind. Then his master’s wife lied and said he had made advances toward her. Of course, she said she had rejected him; and then she held up his coat and said, “And here’s his coat he left when I was fighting him off!”

Because of those lies, Joseph was sent to prison; and that was the second time he had suddenly found himself in trouble over something as innocent as a coat. Of course, it wasn’t Joseph’s coat the devil was after; it was him. The devil doesn’t want any of your possessions either; he wants you.

How would you have felt if you had been Joseph? First, you were sold by your jealous brothers into slavery, and then you were put in prison because of a lie. But even in prison, Joseph found favor with the keeper of the prison; and God looked out for him.

God Gives Favor

No matter how many hard places you find yourself in or where you are, God will give you favor if you walk in His divine will; however, it may not always be the kind of favor you want. God didn’t give Joseph the favor he needed to keep him out of prison; but once he was there, Joseph found that favor, and he was put in charge of the other prisoners.

Some of us don’t recognize the favor God gives us in difficult times because we look at the situations and not at how God is working. Too often, we think God has forgotten us when He is really just waiting for us to yield ourselves completely to Him so He can bless us with His favor.

While Joseph was in prison, Pharaoh became angry with his chief butler and his chief baker; and they both wound up in prison with Joseph. While there, they both had dreams; and they were troubled because they didn’t know what they meant. And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and looked upon them, and, behold, they were sad. And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were with him in the ward of his lord’s house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly today? And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me them, I pray you (Genesis 40:6-8).

They then told Joseph their dreams, and the Lord gave him the interpretations of them. The butler was going to be restored to his place in Pharaoh’s house, but the baker was going to be hanged; and things happened just as Joseph had said they would.

You Must Forgive

When Joseph had interpreted the butler’s dream, he had asked, But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house. For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon (Genesis 40:14,15).

The butler did remember Joseph, but not until a few years later when Pharaoh needed a dream interpreted. The butler had forgotten all about Joseph...but God did not forget.

People may forget you, but God never will. If you are born again and walking with Him, you have favor with Him. No matter how many trials you are going through or how hard they may be, God will favor you; and you will get along far better than you would without Him. No matter what kind of circumstances surround you, you will have the favor of God if you are walking in His divine will; and He will work for you. Always look for the hand of God.

Instead of hating those who mistreated him, Joseph spent time forgiving them; but some people never forget the wrongs done to them. Have you ever spent time forgiving the wrongs done to you? Some people allow themselves to become full of bitterness, and they rehash wrongful situations over and over in their minds instead of dwelling on deliverance and forgiveness.

You can make yourself forgive if you will sit down and have a talk with yourself. If self doesn’t listen, you may have to threaten it with a fast or with spending extra time each day in the prayer chamber. Then get close to the person you had a problem with. If self begins to draw up, remind self of what you said. You can straighten out self if you are firm; and when you win, the victory will be sweet.

Have No Bitterness or Revenge

In prison, Joseph had much time to bring self under subjection. He could have plotted which brother he was going to get revenge on first, but he didn’t do that. God never would have put Joseph second in command to Pharaoh in Egypt if he had not gotten all the bitterness out of his heart.

You will be mistreated in this life, and there are people who may say all kinds of hurtful things against you. They may lie about you or even slander you, but never let any injustice done to you lock you up in a prison of bitterness and revenge. If you do, God will not be able to raise you up to the place He wants you to be in this final hour.

We all have work to do for the Lord; so if you have something in your heart against another, you must get it out of the way. Yes, it is a hard thing to do, but it is the only way to get out of that prison of bitterness and make it to the top of the mountain.

Joseph didn’t conquer his feelings overnight; it took time for the Lord to get him ready to be used. Joseph was human, and he had to work to get rid of the bitterness. I’m sure there were nights he lay awake crying over what had been done to him, and he must have felt hatred for his brothers. God had to wait until all of that was gone.

I don’t know how long it took Joseph to get rid of all of the hurt and bitterness he felt; but he accomplished it by the time he was thirty years old, the time he was made second only to Pharaoh. God wants to use us, too, but He is waiting until He can get the hindrances out of us.

Joseph Was in Egypt for a Purpose

Could you have walked out of prison with the same sweet attitude Joseph had? Could you have walked out saying, “God, your hand is upon me”? Would you have realized that your brethren were more miserable over what they had done than you were, and could you have still loved them? I’m sure a day never passed in which Joseph’s brothers didn’t think about him.

God was with Joseph all the way. He was sent to Egypt for a purpose, and God got him ready for it. Then the day came when a great famine caused Joseph’s brothers to travel to Egypt for food. Joseph was in charge of food distribution, and he recognized them; but they didn’t recognize him. Joseph probably looked and sounded like an Egyptian by then.

Joseph loved his brothers but he wanted to find out what was in their hearts before he revealed himself to them. There is no need to go back into a bad situation if no correction has been made, and there was no need for Joseph to reveal himself to his brethren if they were going to kill him on the spot so their father would never know what they had done.

Joseph needed answers, so he tested them. And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spake roughly unto them; and he said unto them, Whence come ye? And they said, From the land of Canaan to buy food. And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man’s sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies. And he said unto them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not. And Joseph said unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying, Ye are spies: Hereby ye shall be proved: By the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither. Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proved, whether there be any truth in you: or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. And he put them all together into ward three days. And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God: If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the house of your prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses: But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so. And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us. And Reuben answered them, saying, Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required. And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter. And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes (Genesis 42:7-24).

Later, Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, and they condemned themselves; but Joseph said, Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life (Genesis 45:5). That scripture verse contains so much love and forgiveness.

The Spirit of Jesus was in Joseph. That is why he could say, “Don’t torment yourself or grieve about what you did to me. The Lord sent me here to save you.” Can you look at your enemies today and know God has a hand in your encounters with them? Forgiveness can be hard to come by, especially when you are going through the experience and trying to deal with the person who is persecuting you; but when you have the Spirit of Jesus, you can forgive.

Persecution Draws You Closer to God

Do you have any thorns in your life—anyone blocking your road to Heaven? Did you ever consider that if it weren’t for that person, you would not make it to Heaven? That may sound strange, but it could be true.

Think about this: Some people complain about the one they married saying, “Oh, God, why did you give me that person? Of all the people I could have married, why that one?” God didn’t give that person such a companion; he or she chose the person. I have seen people who were married to the meanest of spouses. How they could even bear to go home was a mystery to me, but they held on to God and had victory. Finally, that mean one found salvation, but then the one who had held on to God for so long let down his or her guard and eventually backslid. How sad!

I have seen cases where the wife knew she needed to have victory when she got home because she was going to meet the devil. Then her husband finally received salvation, and the wife no longer had to pray so much for her peace of mind and very survival because she now had an angel of a husband at home. She stopped reading her Bible as much because everything had worked out. Then, little by little, she grew away from God; and before she knew it, she had gone away from Him altogether.

Persecution can force people either deeper into God or further away from Him. In this final hour, persecution will keep the Bride close to God as she fasts, prays and lives in the Word; and she will talk to God more than ever in all faith believing. Satan will be after her in all kinds of ways because souls are at stake, and he doesn’t want one of them to be won for the Lord. Every member of the bridal company will be crying out, “Lord, help us finish your work quickly, and then come and get us!” There is a great price to pay for yielding all to God, but the sacrifice will be more than worth the price.

Never Blame God

If you are content with the world, you haven’t paid the price of denying self or taken up your cross to follow Jesus all the way. What price are you willing to pay for the greatness of God?

Joseph was able to preserve his whole family during the great famine because he paid the price. Are you willing to pay a great price so that all your loved ones will be preserved from the Tribulation Period? Are you willing to pay any price to help bring them to God?

When you go before the Lord, are you bitter about the path He has laid out for you? Do you think He has done you an injustice? Do you blame God because your job isn’t to your liking, or do you resent Him because He seems to bless others more than He blesses you? Are you always looking to your past with resentment? You can’t blame God for anything that comes your way.

Sit self down and have another talk with it because you must have control over self. Tell self that it can never speak a word against God; and if it does, make self pay. Tell self it can never resent God or anything He allows to come your way. Fast, pray and live in the Word until self comes under subjection to God’s will. You must realize that self is your worst enemy and rise up against it. When you conquer self, you have conquered all. When Moses conquered Moses, he conquered all. When Joseph conquered Joseph, he conquered all.

Saul Failed

Some insist they have not done anything wrong. King Saul disobeyed God in the matter of Agag and the Amalekites. Through the prophet Samuel, God had told Saul to smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass (I Samuel 15:3).

Then Saul gathered the people together and went forth to do as the Lord had told him to, but he didn’t do everything God’s way. And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly (I Samuel 15:7-9).

When Samuel heard about it, he said to Saul, Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD? And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites (I Samuel 15:19,20). Saul insisted he hadn’t done anything wrong even though he had deliberately gone against what God had said. Saul had big plans, and looking honestly at self wasn’t one of them.

You Must Be Willing to Pay

Self can have such big plans, especially when God wants you to fast. Self will throw out many thoroughly convincing reasons as to why you should not fast at that time. Remember that all the men and women God has ever used needed time for Him to get them ready, and Bible fasting is a great way to prepare. When people stayed in with God, yielded to Him and listened to His voice, God was able to get them ready to be used the way He wanted to.

Exactly what do you think about your old self? Try writing down your thoughts, but then you might want to destroy the paper when you get done. Can you bring self under subjection to fast, pray and read the Word of God like you should? Can you bring self under subjection to work for God and deal with people about their souls?

Again I say, there is a big price to pay to do God’s whole will. There will be mental prisons, lonely nights and mind battles. Nothing will be easy, but you must decide to pay any price. Have you made up your mind to do that?

Oh, if people would just pay the price every day to walk in all the greatness of God and to win the lost at any cost as the Holy Spirit without measure is poured out on Earth today! I vow right now I will pay no matter what the price may be. Will you do the same thing? Always keep this little chorus in mind:

I’m going through;

I’m going through.

I’ll pay the price,

No matter what others do.

I’ll take the way

With the Lord’s despised few.

I’ve started for Heaven,

And I’m going through!

A Message from the Holy Spirit

Thus saith the Lord, I never ask my people to do something that I will not do. I forgive, and I ask my people to forgive. I love, and I ask my people to love. I have sacrificed all, and I ask my people to sacrifice. I forgive not like man forgives; I forgive and remember no more. When my people can use my love to forgive like I forgive, my people will be a victorious people, saith the Lord.

I see the sins and faults of man. I see the failures of my people; yet when they cry unto me, I forgive, and I do not hold it against them, saith the Lord. My people sometimes doubt my forgiveness. They fail me and even sin against me, and they cry unto me. Humbly, they ask for my forgiveness, and I forgive; yet they won’t accept it. They will not believe I have forgiven them. Oh, that my people would study my Word and know my Spirit of forgiveness! Then my people could rise up with a greater spirit within them knowing that I am the Lord that forgiveth all their iniquities and healeth all their backslidings. I am the Lord their God.